Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => English Warbow => Topic started by: duffontap on May 22, 2007, 01:57:03 am
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Well, Here it is. My latest war bow. Like my Mary Rose Replica, it draws 110# @ 32". I wanted to try something a little different with this one so I made it only 1 3/8" wide, deeper and slightly more rectangular in section. I really like the slenderness and width-depth ratio. I took it to the beach for the first time tonight a fired off 4 arrows. My best shot of the four was 215 yards with a 1,050 grain arrow. That's really good for me. I'll have to get some more experience with it before I draw my conclusions but I really liked it. Very smooth draw and gentle release.
Bowyer's Mark:
(http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q35/duffontap/BowyersMark-1.jpg)
Unbraced: I can't believe how long these bows are. I'm 6' 2", the bow is 6' 5" nock to nock with a few more inches of tips on top of that.
(http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q35/duffontap/Unbraced-1.jpg)
Full draw:
(http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q35/duffontap/FullDraw-1.jpg)
Top tip:
(http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q35/duffontap/TopTip-1.jpg)
Bottom tip:
(http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q35/duffontap/BottomTip-1.jpg)
On the tiller:
(http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q35/duffontap/Tiller-1.jpg)
Good times at the beach:
(http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q35/duffontap/SunsetDraw.jpg)
J. D. Duff
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Cool I like the Top tip great looking war bow hey are you drawing with two finger it looks like it in pic.
Miles
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Very nice JD.
From what little evidence I can find on medieval nocks, they appear to be much smaller than Victorian nocks, almost vestigial. Personally, I like the 'teardrop' shape favoured by Pip Bickerstaffe and Steve Stratton. But that's just me, and in no way detracts from your work.
You might find it easier to use your legs more when shooting for distance. Bend your legs rather than bend at the waist. This will help keep your core (trunk) stable.
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JD Better tiler than the prevoius one, very elegantly looking too.Must be smooth with that lenght and shape. Anyway - have you considered that you can seemingly pull 2´´ more when shooting for distance?
You have enough potential to do that!
33´´ would put you far ahead in performance all else being equal.
Glenan - I thought Steve makes proper Tudor shape horn nocks?
There is anyway a woodcut with Henry VIII. army on the continent and there is lots of longbowmen with huge bows standing around and the nocks are very "Muir" shaped. Means alot like some victorian nocks. Ill dig around my HD and post the pic in separate thread.
Jaro
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(http://sweb.cz/hawkwind/upravenoJD.JPG)
Think of this JD ! (Eventually wear hat when trying to draw further, its only way how to not lose the ear.) :DDD
Jaro
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Jaro,
I can well believe Tudor bows had the more ornate nocks. I'm certainly not doubting their authenticity. There seems to be a fashion change towards the more ornate at the end of the 15th century; especially when compared to the late 14th century.
If you look at pictures of bows from the late 14th century if there's any nock at all, it seems no more than the tip of the bow coloured black.
And, as I said, I just prefer the simple nocks. That's not to say I don't have bows with ornate nocks on them. :-)
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Looks like an absolutely perfect tiller JD ...and great performance from it too. Jaro's right, im sure you could have a longer drawlength. I'm a shortass and I can draw 31 or 32 inches albeit with a lighter bow.
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That looks pretty awesome! Great pictures too! :)
Both are 77" ntn and 110# at the same draw-lenght? It would be interesting to hear what their mass is.
How thick is it at the middle?
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Another triumph Josh :)
My main criteria for nocks is that the little blighters stay on, not something that is always easy to achieve (even with ye olde acetone and araldite), I've found.
What depth of cone did you use and how do you feel the squarer section has influenced the performance?
No need to show-off how many nice bows you have waiting to be released from those staves. If I had a green-headed 'jealous' emoticon I would use it!.
Cheers,
Jeremy
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Nice bow JD. Ill bet you can shoot a caribou without even leaving the road with that one. ;D Justin
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Beautiful bow! Well done!!
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Very nice. I'm also 6' 2" but cannot pull those heavy bows. You do a good job of it.
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Thanks Everyone!
Glennan,
I have mixed feelings about the nocks. I think I like the more ornate horns better for aesthetic reasons but the simple ones seem more authentic. In the future I'm going to stop including the second groove because I don't use a stringer anymore. Thanks for the advice about my stiff legs. I don't think I released an arrow on that shot which may explain it. I'm still a very awkward shooter so I'll post a video that you can look at. I try to incorperate the Mark Stretton hop on release. My timing is sometimes off but my distances are improving. Thanks again.
Miles,
Glad you like it. I do draw with 2 fingers. I was forced into this when I injured a finger but it just stuck. Thanks.
Jaro,
Better tiller? That's the best compliment of all. I'd never thought about drawing longer. I'll have to work into that. I may be able to do 33" on that bow now. You think it would be safe for the bow?
Justin,
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D If I can afford to get to Alaska.
Matti,
Thanks a lot!
Jeremy,
I'm with you on those nocks. If I can keep them from breaking off, that's a good start. The main trouble I've had is with this buffalo horn having flaws in it. I'm going back to longhorn. I really like the more rectangular section. I'll have to shoot it more before I can tell you about perfomance or weight. Btw, you're looking at 44" billets. I'd be jealous too. :D
Kvilijo,
I'll have to pass the compliments about the pictures on to my wife. I'll weigh the bows some day.
Marc,
I thought you could pull around 100#? Well, you can build them better than anyone. Thanks for the kind words.
J. D. Duff
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Another stunner! your a talented man JD :).
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Thanks Loki! You've been very supportive. I appreciate it.
J. D. Duff
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Here's a video so you can make fun of my beginner form. ;D Constructive criticism welcome.
J. D. Duff
(http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q35/duffontap/th_3ShotVideo.jpg) (http://s132.photobucket.com/albums/q35/duffontap/?action=view¤t=3ShotVideo.flv)
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Nice little 'jig' after the loose ;D
Outcaste
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Hell of a bow JD, That sure is a nice looking piece of Yew.
Dana
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Wow, I hope to make a war-bow that comes out half that nice someday.
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Speaking as a newbie, I can't see anything to criticise there. Your technique has to be good if you can draw a heavy bow like that three times in quick succession.
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AWESOME Josh!!!... :o... :)...
You are doing as a PROFESSIONAL LONGBOW MAN in your video!!... Cool...nothing to see witha newbie... ;)...
Well done mate!!...
Cheers...
Asier.
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Josh, take a look at what I have drawn into the picture. You can level your bowarm more in alignment with your shoulders.
Jaro
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Looking good JD. Have you ever seen Simon Stanley shoot? He has an active release which is what yours looks similar to but he acheives his by keeping his bow arm bent and almost throwing the arrow from the bow on release. I'm told that this gives him an extra 10-15 yards which is deffinately worth trying to acheive.
I'm not sure that this is actually what you are doing but the fact that you have that action goin on means you are half way there. If you can try and keep that bow arm bent untill release then you are there. It's difficult tho espesially at the heavier weights, I know coz I've been tryin' Keep it up mate. ;)
All the best
jb
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Very impressive. The tiller is beautiful. How much set has the bow taken?
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Cool video Josh. You didn't shoot Proposal Rock did you? Looks like you were shooting that direction.
You are getting 200+ yards with a 1100 grain arrow. Now, That's artillery. ;) Pat
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Josh great shooting, very nice warbow,keep up the good work. marlon ;D
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Great looking bow, 215 yards with a thousand grain arrow is very good! certainly speaks well for the bow you built and your release could not have been too bad. Steve
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I am absolutely in awe of your skills. I hope to one day follow along. Thought I'd work in elm and mulberry first...don't want to ruin any yew....too precious....I love the nocks I wouldn't change a thing. Thanks for the pics and the video.
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Justin, I just watched your video, You have had a huge improvement in your form. We had some discussion about how a man could shoot in comparison to a shooting maching with a supposed perfect release, using an active release I can shoot about 8 fps faster than the bow will come out of the machine at the same draw length. So that movement you are doing does help distance. Kind of the same effect you would get if shooting a bow from a moving car but not as exagerated. Steve
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Outcaste,
I learned that one 'dancing with the stars.' ::)
DanaM,
Thanks a lot. This stave was a lucky find. Golden shafts of light were shining down on this tree when I found it. The luck ended there though. While I cut the tree my truck was stollen and destroyed for fun. They never caught them.
Gordon,
I somehow doubt you could do much worse. These bows have been a real tillering challenge for me. Much harder for me than an eliptical tiller. I'm not sure why. Thanks for the compliments.
Asiertxu,
Thanks a lot. I expected much more criticism.
Jaro,
I was going to ask you what those lines meant. Is that just a stronger arm postion or does it maximise draw length, other? Thanks for the help. You were the first person to tell me my elbow position was wrong when I started. Your video really helped.
jb.68,
I have seen him shoot. I wish someone would put up another copy of that video on Youtube. I used to watch that all the time. My pushing arm needs to be a little stronger but I will try that. You are right in that he bends his bow arm and pushes with the shot. Thanks for the advice.
Marvin,
The bow was made from what I suppose to be a bit of a compression stave. It had a very small amount of deflex to begin with. I ended up with about 1 1/2" of set which was a little more than I had hoped for. 2" isn't uncommon though from what I've heard.
Pat B,
Where's Proposal Rock? A couple people have watched me shoot at the beach and they are amazed when those big arrows go out of sight. It's pretty fun to watch them go.
Marlon,
Thanks Marlon. I feel like I owe you one. :P
Steve,
Thanks a lot. You can't help but 'push-pull' these big bows. The push and hop are quite natural. I'm feeling much better about the distances I'm getting too. I do need to make up some better arrows and see what I can manage.
Jpitts,
Elm and mulberry are a great place to start. When you go with Yew, save up and spring for a really nice stave. That is, if you'll be building a heavy bow.
Thanks for the very kind words everyone. I appreciate it a lot.
J. D. Duff
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JD It lenghtens the draw and aligns bones and joints. You are completelly different morpohology than me, tall and wirry, so you draw differently than me, but you can get all the working elements in one line.
Take a look on picture of me with that long draw in my "tutorial" thread.
I m first to admit there are far better longbowmen than me, but I did a good deal of work about "how to sqeeze most perfomence out of really small machinel" and you dont really recgnise how tiny I m untill I stand next to normaly sized person. Hahahaha :)
I like that dynamic release you do, but once you start to level on any sort of target, or even on clout type of target, youll find out that very solid stance is needed and you probably go lower in knees. The "jumpy jumpy" part is funny to watch though :D
Jaro
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Wow! That bow is drop dead gorgeous! Great job! I really like the tiller on it, very good job on that also.
Sean
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Jaro,
Thanks for referring to me as wiry.' I was thinking along the lines of 'tall and fat.' ;D I am trying to watch my figure though.
On a more serious note, I hadn't thought about the accuracy side of things. I guess if I were trying to hit something I'd have to hold still during my release. I have some big cardboard boxes to start shooting at.
1/2 Primitive,
Thanks so much. I appreciate it.
J. D. Duff
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I was thinking along the lines of 'tall and fat.' ;D I am trying to watch my figure though.
J. D. Duff
;D Heehe I fall into that catagory too.
Can we have a close up of the bow JD? Thanks.
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Sure. What kind of close-up? Did you see the pics at the beginning of this thread?
BTW, I gain about 25# during the ice cream season (winter) and now I have to kill myself on my road bike to get ready for Elk hunting. :P I have a ways to go before I'll be really wiry.
J. D. Duff
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::) ::) Stupid boy...... Yes that'll be the kind of close ups I was thinking of (I did see them but I have a small brain ;D )thanks :).
That is a beauty mate. I love the shine on the back, combined with that grain on the belly. Really nice job mate. Thanks.